“Keeping it real” is considered to be one of rap’s mantras and reflects the musical genre’s longstanding and complex relation with authenticity. The authenticity of rap artists – or “realness”, to put it into rap and street vernacular – tends to hinge on whether rappers (still) have a connection to the streets. In this blog post, Robby Roks reflects on the recent controversy surrounding Brooklyn rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine to explore the performativity of street credibility, and the intertwinement of rap music, the streets, gangs, violence, and law enforcement agencies.

In this blog post, Anna Merz explores the 2019 film Dark Waters from a criminological perspective. Based on the New York Times Magazine’s article “The Lawyer Who Became DuPont’s Worst Nightmare”, the film portrays attorney Rob Bilott (starred by Mark Ruffalo) and his legal fight against chemical giant DuPont for knowingly polluting the environment and endangering workers and society’s health. Dark Waters provides insights into the power struggle as a natural corollary of corporate crimes and the pitfalls of (self-)regulation.

The recent Toronto attack has raised concerns on the emerging threat of Incels’ violence. But what does Incel stand for? Is it just about miso-gynistic nerds that hate on women or is there more? In this blog, Léa Massé examines the link between the Incel movement and the radicalisation of identity politics over recent years.